Account-file



(No Model.)

L. W. GILSON.

ACCOUNT FILE.

No. 545,482. Patented Sept. 3, 1895.

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Lw WW UNITE .TATE'S LEVI W. GILSQN, OF FREMONT, OHIO.

ACCOUNT-FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 545,482, datedSeptember 3, 1895.

v Application filed February 21, 1895. Serial No. 539,289. (No model.)

To 00% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEVI W. GILSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fremont, in the county of Sandusky and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Account-File, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to improvements in account-files.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofbill and account files, to increase their strength and durability, andto provide a simple and inexpensive one in which interveningindex-sheets and account-sheets or bills will be firmly secured,arranged for convenient inspection, and adapted to be readily removed.

A further object of the invention is to enable account-slips or bills tobe readily placed on file without liability of disarranging any of theintervening index-sheets or the account-slips or bills contained betweenthem.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective -view of an account-fileconstructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view showingthe central portion of the account-file.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawlngs.

1 designates a flat base, constructed preferably of wood and havingsecured to its rear edge a vertical back 2, which forms a support for aseries of index-sheets 3, which are ar cally-disposed hollow stem6,separated from the back by a short intervening space and removable,receiving one leg 7 of a substantially- U-s-haped arched rod 8,extending over and straddling the back 2 and havingits other leg locatedin rear of the back. The hollow post or stem 6 has its upper edgeslightly beveled to sharpen it, to enable account-slips, bills, and thelike to be readily placed on it, and to be arranged between theindex-sheets, as will readily be understood. 7

The front leg 7 of the arched rod 8 is'reduced to fit within the hollowstem 6, and it forms-a shoulder 10 at its upper extremity to rest uponthe top of the stem 6, for supporting the arched rod at the desiredelevation, to provide an intervening space between its top and the upperedge of the back 2, to enabie any number of the index-sheets to betransferred from the front side of the back to the rear of the same, toexpose any particular bill or account without removing the other sheetsand bills arranged above it. The arched rod 8 is removably arranged inthe stem, and it is rigidly secured in position by means of a swingingarm or plate 11, hinged to the rear face of the back 2 and engaging therear leg 9 of the arched rod 8.

The rear leg 9 of the arched rod is'provided, adjacent to its lower end,which is tapered, with a notch forming a horizontal shoulder 13, and abeveled inner face above the shoulder, and the hinged arm or plate 11,which is provided with a recess 14, frictionally engages the beveledface of the leg 9 and is supported by the horizontal shoulder thereof.By this construction the arched bar is rigidly retained in properposition, and theswinging plate or arm 11 forms a support for theindex-sheets when the same are swung over the back to expose anyparticular bill or account.

The exposed account is arranged flat above the base and is in aconvenient position for making any desired entry thereon, and when it isdesired to store the account-file in a safe over night the arched barmay be compactly folded against the back by swinging the plate or armupward and compactly folding the same. The swinging arm or plate is alsopro vided with a perforation 15 to enable the account-file to be readilyhung up when not in actual use.

The arched rod is made removable from the hollow stem for the purpose ofconveniently filling the file, and as soon as the arched rod is removedthe upper end of the stem is perfectly free, and one or more of theindexsheets may be freely lifted off of the stem and quickly placedthereon, as will be readily apparent. The swinging arm or plate, whichforms a locking device, not only holds the arched rod against anylateral or swinging movement, but also firmly retains the reduced leg inthe socket against any accidental displacement.

It will be seen that the account-file is exceedingly simple andinexpensive in construction, that it posseses great strength anddurability, that it permits accounts to be rapidly inspected, added, orremoved, and that in such operations there is no liability ofdisarranging any of the index-sheets.

Changes'in the form, proportion, and the minor details of constructionmay be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificingany of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim is- 1. An account file, comprising a base, a hollow stemrising therefrom, an arched rod having one leg removably fitted in thehollow stem, and a swinging arm or plate hingedly connected with thebase and engaging the other arm of the arched rod, whereby the same isheld rigidly in operative position, substantially as described.

2. An account file, comprising a base, a hollow stem mounted thereon, anarched rod having one leg reduced and fitting in the stem and supportedthereon, the other leg being provided with a horizontal shoulder, and aplate or arm hingedly connected with the base and engaging the archedrod and supported by the horizontal shoulder thereof, substantially asdescribed.

3. An account file, comprising a base provided with a vertical back, ahollow stem mounted on the base, the arched rod having its front legreduced to form a shoulder and fitted within the hollow stem, said rodhaving its rearleg recessed to form a horizontal shoulder and aninclined face, and a plate hingedly mounted on the back and arranged toswing downward into a horizontal position upon the shoulder of the rodand provided at its outer edge with a notch, receiving the rod andholding the same against lateral movement, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LEVI V. GILSON.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, H. F. RILEY.

